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Joe Walsh's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

Key

Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.

Joe Walsh has failed to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2020 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.

What is the Political Courage Test?

Issue Positions

For Presidential and Congressional candidates who refuse to provide voters with their positions, Vote Smart has researched their public records to determine their likely responses. These issue positions are from 2020.

  • "From the point of conception, life is created. Human life is created. There's is no debating this. This is beyond dispute." (www.facebook.com)
  • "Abortion infringes on our greatest right, the right to life." (votesmart.org)
  • "Health care is meant to save life, not take it. Abortion is not health care. Stop with this nonsense." (votesmart.org)
  • "Kind of hard to teach children if they've all been killed through abortion." (votesmart.org)
  • “Good Trump: Tax cuts.” (twitter.com)
  • “I agree with you on the tax cuts.” (twitter.com)
  • “.@Ocasio2018 stumbles through the answer, mentioning wealthy folks "paying their fair share" and all of us "paying a carbon tax." How about government just leaves us alone? “ (twitter.com)
  • "We need to do away with the income tax and the IRS. Americans should be able to keep the money they earn. Simple as that!" (votesmart.org)
  • "Medicare and Medicaid are going to go bust, but yeah, sure, let's try to finance a bigger healthcare program now." (votesmart.org)
  • "Medicare will go bankrupt by 2029. Dem's answer? Medicare for all. We can't afford Medicare as it currently exists, so lets expand it. Smh" (votesmart.org)
  • "You understand that if we don't reform Medicaid, Medicare & Social Security, they will be gone in 8-20 years? Doing nothing will kill them." (votesmart.org)
  • “I remember when Democrats screamed in horror about Citizens United and how we needed to get money out of politics. But Tom Steyer is on their side, so I guess that makes the $30 million spend perfectly fine to them. “ (twitter.com)
  • “A budget is a President's vision. This "vision" finally cuts federal spending, returns responsibility to the states & builds up our defense.” (twitter.com)
  • "EPA budget cut. Military budget boosted. Libs cry. I smile." (votesmart.org)
  • “It's not the tax cuts. It's never the tax cuts. It's the spending. It's always the spending.” (twitter.com)
  • “Good Trump: Tax cuts.” (twitter.com)
  • “I agree with you on the tax cuts.” (twitter.com)
  • "In a free country, people & companies can leave. In a competitive world, don't have the highest corporate tax rate. Or they will leave." (votesmart.org)
  • “W Bush was a terrible President. He borrowed trillions. Gave us no child left behind. And loved big government. He helped create Trump!” (twitter.com)
  • Feds threatening schools, so schools threatening students who opt out of Common Core testing. Wrong. (twitter.com)
  • "Gov Bobby Jindal sues Feds over Common Core. "It's an unconstitutional federal take over of education." He's right." (votesmart.org)
  • "Um, Common Core is a bit of a problem..." (votesmart.org)
  • “Well it would be all of the above. But it probably wouldn't be much coal.” (www.businessinsider.com)
  • "House votes to overturn Obama's oil & natural gas drilling rule. Good. Lets free up our energy sector." (votesmart.org)
  • “.@Ocasio2018 stumbles through the answer, mentioning wealthy folks "paying their fair share" and all of us "paying a carbon tax." How about government just leaves us alone? “ (twitter.com)
  • “Well I'm a big gun guy I believe in the second then. Plain and simple. There's no silver bullet to this issue.” (www.businessinsider.com)
  • “When I leave here in about an hour if I go to a gun dealer down the street and I want to buy a gun I have to go to I have to get a federal background check. It makes sense to me that if I buy that same gun at a gun show, I should have to undergo a federal background check. It makes the same sense to me that if I buy a gun online, I should have to undergo the background check.” (www.businessinsider.com)
  • "Here's my proposal: No tariffs. No new gun control legislation. More freedom." (votesmart.org)
  • "I ran for Congress nine years ago to repeal Obamacare. My fellow Republicans talked a good game back then, but now? The truth now is that Republicans politically are scared to death of Obamacare. They don't want to repeal it and they sure as hell don't have a replacement." (votesmart.org)
  • "Pay attention. I'm no Leftist. I want the wall built, I want the IRS eliminated, I want Obamacare repealed, I don't want anyone in this country who won't assimilate to our Constitution, and I don't want government to touch my 2nd Amendment rights. And yes, I don't like Trump." (votesmart.org)
  • "No amnesty. No pathway to citizenship for anyone in this country illegally. Never. And by the way, build the wall. Now." (votesmart.org)
  • "Pay attention. I'm no Leftist. I want the wall built, I want the IRS eliminated, I want Obamacare repealed, I don't want anyone in this country who won't assimilate to our Constitution, and I don't want government to touch my 2nd Amendment rights. And yes, I don't like Trump." (votesmart.org)
  • "#ThingsIWontApologizeFor Loving America. Wanting a border wall. Fighting for limited government." (votesmart.org)
  • “Illegals have no right to be here and they sure as hell don't have a right to be protected from deportation.” (twitter.com)
  • “The border crisis LIE: these illegals are NOT refugees. They aren't running FROM anything, they are running TO amnesty & no deportation.” (twitter.com)
  • "No amnesty. No pathway to citizenship for anyone in this country illegally. Never. And by the way, build the wall. Now." (votesmart.org)
  • "No pathway to citizenship. No pathway to legalization. No pathway to @jimmyjohns. No pathway. You came here illegally. Stay in the shadows" (votesmart.org)
  • "Don't know what will happen, but I know this: Trump telling "rocket man" he's perfectly willing to turn North Korea into a parking lot if he has to, is working. It's not what Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Obama would ever do. But what Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Obama did, didn't work." (votesmart.org)
  • "Nope. Pulling out of the Iran deal tells North Korea that the U.S. is no longer going to appease evil regimes." (votesmart.org)
  • "Bring our troops home from Afghanistan, get em out of Syria, and don't even think about going to war with Iran." (www.facebook.com)
  • "The Pentagon is considering sending more US troops to the Middle East because of the situation with Iran. No. Mistake. Stay out of that part of the world. Muslim nations, tribes and terrorist organizations have been fighting with each other for centuries. We should stay out." (www.facebook.com)
  • "Just like the Iraq War, tariffs are a bad idea." (votesmart.org)
  • "Quit selling arms to the Saudis, don't even think about going to war with Iran, and doggone it, bring our troops home from Afghanistan. Make sure everybody knows that we'll defend Israel no matter what, but then let's get us the heck out of that part of the world." (votesmart.org)
  • "Tariffs are wrong. Tariffs are stupid. Tariffs are nothing but taxes on the American people. They are taxes on us. The American people pay the tariffs." (www.facebook.com)
  • "Tariffs hurt the American people." (twitter.com)
  • “I believe in freedom. I believe in free markets. I believe in free trade. I believe in opportunity. I believe that no matter your color, no matter your creed, if you want to come here and you embrace the values of our Constitution, America welcomes you.” (twitter.com)
  • "Here's my proposal:No tariffs.No new gun control legislation.More freedom." (votesmart.org)
  • "Just like the Iraq War, tariffs are a bad idea." (votesmart.org)

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